I thought the flavour text was just right—I got it from the data, not the flavour text, and saw the flavour text as confirmation, as you intended.
I was really quite surprised by how many players analyzed the data well enough to say “Barkskin potion requires Crushed Onyx and Ground Bone, Necromantic Power Potion requires Beech Bark and Oaken Twigs” and then went on to say “this sounds reasonable, I have no further questions.” (Maybe the onyx-necromancy connection is more D&D lore than most players knew? But I thought that the bone-necromancy and bark-barkskin connections would be obvious even without that).
Illusion of transparency I think, hints are harder than anyone making them thinks.
When I looked at the ingredients for a “barkskin potion”, as far as I knew at this point the ingredients were arbitrary, so in fact I don’t recall finding it suspicious at all. Then later I remember looking at the ingredients for a “necromantic power potion” and thinking something like… “uh… maybe wood stuff is used for wands or something to do necromancy?”. It was only when I explicitly made a list of the ingredients for each potion type, rather than looking at each potion individually, and could see that everything else make sense, that I realized the twist.
I thought the flavour text was just right—I got it from the data, not the flavour text, and saw the flavour text as confirmation, as you intended.
Illusion of transparency I think, hints are harder than anyone making them thinks.
When I looked at the ingredients for a “barkskin potion”, as far as I knew at this point the ingredients were arbitrary, so in fact I don’t recall finding it suspicious at all. Then later I remember looking at the ingredients for a “necromantic power potion” and thinking something like… “uh… maybe wood stuff is used for wands or something to do necromancy?”. It was only when I explicitly made a list of the ingredients for each potion type, rather than looking at each potion individually, and could see that everything else make sense, that I realized the twist.